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I’ve said it before and I can’t help but say it again. I love living in the Rogue Valley of Southern Oregon. And, if you have a few minutes, I’ll give you three reasons why. First of all, it’s a beautiful place. There are mountains, lakes, and rivers just minutes away. Second, it’s not crowded like large metropolitan cities such as Portland or Seattle. You can drive 20 minutes in any direction and end up somewhere in the beautiful Southern Oregon countryside. Third, I think that it has the best of both worlds. There’s plenty of outdoor activities such as hiking, fishing and camping and also there’s the nearby Oregon Shakespeare Festival, dozens of vineyards and microbreweries, and a number of wonderful restaurants that feature spectacular local ingredients.

The Rogue River in Southern Oregon

I always love visiting the Rogue River. Whether it be for hiking along the banks, rafting or my favorite river activity, fishing. One day on my lunch hour, I briefly stopped by the Rogue River near Touvelle State Park and decided to snap a few photos. It was a bit overcast that afternoon but the temperature was nearly perfect. Not too hot, not too cold. Looking down at the river from the top of the bridge, it’s easy to imagine large fish swimming in the cold deep water below the surface. And, if you are lucky, you might even see one!

A fly fisherman on the Rogue River

Many types of fish inhabit the Rogue River. There’s steelhead trout, Chinook salmon, rainbow trout, green sturgeon, coho salmon, and so many more species of fish. My two favorites are steelhead trout and Chinook salmon. I prepare those varieties of fish quite often for my family. As a matter of fact, I serve fish for my family at least once a week. When selecting fish, I prefer to prepare wild caught fish as opposed to farm raised fish. In my opinion, the flavor is better, there are no chemicals or additives, no color enhancements or antibiotics. If given a choice between wild and farm raised fish, the decision is easy. Wild caught fish is your best bet.

My Smoked Steelhead Chowder is a deliciously creamy soup made with smoky bacon, roasted russet potatoes, tender onion, fresh thyme and a splash of heavy cream. It’s prepared similarly to a New England style clam chowder but with smoked tender steelhead instead. It’s great with a slice of warm crusty bread, a crispy green salad or a hot grilled sandwich. If you are not able to obtain smoked steelhead where you live, feel free to substitute the smoked steelhead with some good quality smoked salmon instead. Enjoy! Tessa

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. On a sheet tray or baking pan toss together diced potatoes, diced onions, 1 to 2 tsp. olive oil and seasoning salt. Arrange potatoes and onions in a single layer to ensure even cooking. Bake until the potatoes and onions begin to turn golden brown or about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

Meanwhile, grab a large heavy pot and place it on the stove. Turn burner to medium high heat. Add chopped bacon and cook until the bacon is crispy. Remove bacon with slotted spoon and set aside. Turn down heat to low, add 2 Tbs. butter and 1/3 cup flour to the remaining bacon fat to make a blonde roux. Whisk flour mixture constantly, taking care not to burn, and cook until a very light golden brown. Whisk 5 cups milk and 2 Tbs. tomato paste and cook until almost ready to boil, whisking constantly. Add smoked steelhead, bacon, potatoes, onions, 1 tsp. fresh thyme, 1 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning. Cook, stirring often, until the mixture has thickened and the flour taste has disappeared, for about 1/2 hour. Add heavy cream, taste and correct your seasonings. Ladle into bowls and garnish with chopped smoked steelhead trout and fresh minced parsley. Makes about 2 quarts or 8 servings.

My little garden is a well planned garden. It’s a lot of work but it’s completely worth it. In comparison to other people’s gardens, my garden is small, efficient and in my opinion, for its size, it kicks some serious butt. By the time spring rolls around, I know exactly what is getting planted and where. What’s even worse is that I am extremely picky about the tomato plants that I grow every year. If you don’t believe me, just ask Bruce. I have limited space so I have to choose my plants wisely. I make a list and I stick to it. When it comes to tomatoes, I like a variety of shapes, colors and flavors. This year I chose Green Zebra, Early Girl, Pineapple, Sun Gold, Aunt Ruby’s German Green, Sweet 100, Lemon Boy, Japanese Black Trifele, Mortgage Lifter, Caspian Pink and Moskovich. That’s my list and I’m sticking to it. Until today…

Tomato Plant

I prefer to do my gardening early in the cool hours in the morning. I hand water my plants everyday and inspect every one for pests or other possible plant problems. Everything that I grow is organic and free from pesticides or sprays. Sometimes, the veggies that I grow are not as pretty as store bought but I don’t care. Pretty is not everything. What’s important is that what I grow in my garden is safe for my family to eat.

My tomatoes are ripening and I just realized that have an alien specie in my garden. The tomato that you see is not what I intended to plant. This little unripe tomato completely threw my well planned orderly universe on it’s side. This tomato was supposed to be a Green Zebra. Green Zebras are my son’s favorite. That is why I planted two plants. This is no Green Zebra and frankly, I was a bit miffed. Either someone switched tags at the nursery where I bought it or the seeds were switched at birth. Fortunately I have a backup. As for the alien specie, it took me about an hour of internet time to figure this one out. This tomato is called Stupice. Yes, Stupice. Go figure.

One of my favorite ways to prepare tomatoes from my garden is to oven roast them. It’s easy to do, they taste freakingly amazing and once they are roasted, they are so versatile. Just toss them in your favorite pasta dish or blend them up for a delicious sauce. They also taste great on pizza, in soup or even in scrambled eggs. The possibilities are endless!

Just toss the tomatoes in olive oil, salt and pepper.

And roast them… Roasted tomatoes are seriously delicious. As for the Stupice tomatoes, I don’t know why I was having such an issue… Stupice have a wonderful sweet and tart tomato flavor. It’s highly likely that Stupice will find a place in our little garden next year and possibly in the many years to come.

Ingredients:

tomatoes

olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Cut tomatoes in half or into large chunks and remove the tops. If the tomatoes are small, then there’s no need to slice them. Gently squeeze out some of the seeds. Toss lightly with olive oil, salt, pepper. Arrange tomatoes in a single layer on a foil lined cookie sheet (for easy cleanup). Bake for 45-60 minutes depending on the size or variety of tomatoes. Cook until the tomatoes start to shrivel and get a bit of color or until your liking. Remove from oven, let cool and toss in the refrigerator. Use within a few days. Can be frozen for later use. Note: if you don’t like the skins on the tomatoes, just pull the skins off after cooking. They pop off pretty easily. Enjoy! Tessa

Every year, early in the spring I plant radishes from seed in my little garden. Since my garden is so small, I tuck the radishes rows between some of the slower growing vegetables such as broccoli or cabbage in order to utilize precious garden space. Radishes are amazingly fast and easy to grow. All they need is water and warm spring days. Within 3 weeks after sowing the seeds, I am able to harvest crunchy little radishes for salads and snacks.

Thin sliced crunchy red radishes…

My Radish and Sesame Seed Salad is one of my favorite ways to prepare fresh picked radishes from my garden. It’s vibrant in color and has wonderful Asian inspired flavors. Next time you plant a garden, try sowing a few radish seeds. Enjoy! Tessa

Ingredients

3 cups thinly sliced red radishes

2 Tbs Mirin (sweet cooking wine)

2 Tbs sesame oil

2 Tbs rice vinegar

1 tsp black sesame seeds

1 tsp minced ginger

1/2 tsp garlic paste

1/2 tsp salt or to taste

fresh cilantro, green onion or chives for garnish

Thinly slice the radishes with a mandolin or sharp knife. Set aside. In a medium sized bowl whisk together the Mirin, sesame oil, rice vinegar, black sesame seeds, ginger, garlic and salt. Add radishes and toss. Place in the refrigerator and let marinate for about 45 minutes. Garnish with fresh cilantro, green onions or chives. Makes 4 servings.

I just love hot and spicy food. I can’t even think of even one hot and spicy dish that I don’t like. Whenever I go to a restaurant and I have the option of choosing the heat level of my food I almost always choose 9 out of a scale of 1 to 10. 1 on the scale means very mild. 10 on the other hand, means it will burn a hole in the sidewalk. I generally choose a 9 because I still want to be able to taste my food :).

Every time I order hot and spicy food, my sweet husband Bruce looks at me as if I am completely out of my mind. I look back, smile at him and think to myself that mild food is not an option. He should know me by now. I warned him about this little detail many years ago.

Sambal Oelek

If you don’t know or never have heard of sambal oelek before, sambal oelek is an extremely hot (and delicious) Asian chili pepper paste. Sambal oelek is always a staple our refrigerator and I could not even imagine doing without. Sambal oelek is not for the faint of heart or is something that you can pack in your child’s lunch. Simply put, sambal oelek is a delicious condiment that is to be respected.

Many people when they think of strawberries they conjure up images of sugar and spice and everything nice… I don’t. When I think of strawberries, I think of them as the sassy little bad girls of the fruit world. Of course strawberries are pretty and sweet however, they are feisty enough to stand up to hot and spicy flavors like nobody’s business. Strawberries are cool…

My Spicy Strawberry Salad is reminiscent of an Indonesian hot fruit salad also known as Rudjak Manis. My Spicy Strawberry Salad is made with fresh picked sweet juicy strawberries tossed with fiery sambal oelek, sweet Indonesian soy sauce, ginger, tamarind, and brown sugar. If you have wimpy friends, you can control the heat by adding less sambal oelek. Next time you pick or purchase a pound of fresh strawberries, try this easy to make exotic salad. Enjoy! Tessa

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh strawberries, washed, cored and sliced

2 tsp sambal oelek (chili pepper paste)

2 1/2 Tbs brown sugar

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp tamarind paste

2 Tbs water

In a bowl whisk together the sambal oelek, brown sugar, ginger, tamarind and water. Add the strawberries. Toss to coat and refrigerate for about an hour to let the flavors marry. Taste and correct your seasonings. If you don’t like it too hot, then use less sambal oelek. Makes 4 servings.